STAYING IN SOUTH KOREA: Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea, which divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half. Upon the creation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) [or known as North Korea]and the Republic of Korea (ROK) [or more known as South Korea] in 1948, it became a de facto international border and one of the most tense fronts in the Cold War.
DMZ is 250 kilometres (160 miles) long, approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) wide. Military Demarcation Line is the actual border between North and South Korea. The DMZ is a buffer along the north and south sides of the MDL (2 km into North Korea and 2 km into South Korea). The truce that ended hostilities was signed here in 1953, but as peace was never agreed to, the two sides are still officially at war over sixty years. Both sides of the 4-kilometer strip of land separating the Koreas are the most heavily armed in the world.
This is one of the must-go place in Korea for me. Not only it is unique, but it is rich with history. All the story behind each events can bring tears to your eyes. They tell you the sorrows of separated families, and the struggles that the Koreans have to endure at that time. It humbles you and makes you appreciate of the things that you have. I would love to return to this location again some day. But I also pray that one day DMZ will soon be just a historic site and not a border anymore, so that the two Korean countries can once again be one.